This invention relates to storage racks, and more particularly to deck channel supports for mounting on rack beams.
In certain types of storage racks in material handling and storage systems, a storage bay may consist of front and rear transverse beams supported upon upright posts and a plurality of elongated support members spanning and resting upon the top ledges of the respective front and rear beams. Decks, shelves, or pallets may be supported upon the longitudinal support members.
One specific form of a deck member may be a wire shelf which is welded to a plurality of elongated support channels, the opposite end portions of which rest upon the front and rear beams. Where the front and rear beams are rack offset beams having depressed steps or recesses, the opposite end portions of the support channels are adapted to bear upon the steps. However, if the steps are too shallow and the end portions are of the same uniform depth as the rest of the channel, then the deck member will be elevated too high above the offset beam. If the depth of the support channels is reduced to render the deck member substantially level with the offset beam, the support channels will be commensurately weakened to provide inadequate strength for the deck members or shelves, particularly where they are supporting quite heavy loads.
In order to overcome the above problem, the bottom portions of the end portions of the channels adapted to rest upon the steps have been cut out so that the end portions consist solely of a pair of longitudinally extending channel side walls, of lesser height than the side walls of the main channel, and without any connecting web portions. Although such construction maintains the depth and strength of the main body of the channel, nevertheless the undercutting weakens the end portions, causing them to buckle, collapse and otherwise fail when resting upon the steps of the offset beams, under heavy loads.